INTESTINA L PARA SITES. 3 1 7 



this is one of irritation with an excessive production of 

 mucus ; which secretion would seem essential to their 

 development and existence. 



When worms are present in large numbers very much if 

 not all of the internal surface of the intestines is, as a rule, 

 irritated and shares in this mucous flux, but when the 

 numbers are small, portions of it only are very greatly 

 affected ; and these are in proximity to the pests. 



If onlv a small number of round worms, three or four, 

 perhaps, were present and the victim well on the way to, 

 or had passed, maturity, they would scarcely give rise to 

 very marked symptoms. On the other hand, were he in 

 the first months of life and the number small, even, they 

 would likely prejudice his health ; while were they 

 numerous they would surely start a long train of evils 

 which would be very liable to end in death. 



One of the earliest evidences of the presence of worms 

 is the appearance, in the intestinal discharges, of mucus, 

 which people are wont to term " slime." This manifested, 

 although at first the bowels may move with normal fre- 

 quency, or even be less free than usual, with very young 

 puppies certainly it is seldom long before diarrhoea sets 

 in, in consequence of the irritation of the presence of the 

 worms. 



Now this symptom, diarrhoea, beyond pointing to worms 

 as the cause, presents peculiarities which are instructive, 

 for they indicate with some degree of certainty whether 

 or not the number of the parasites within is large or small. 

 For instance, if the number is large the diarrhoea is gen- 

 erally persistent ; that is, it occurs day after day, and 

 the discharges are thin, scanty, and largely made up of 

 mucus, which is usually reddish in color and voided 

 with some difficulty, as evinced by straining. On the other 

 hand, if the number of worms is comparatively small the 



